Tower Dungeon


Tower Dungeon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. It has been serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius since October 2023. It is about a farmer who is drafted into a group of soldiers tasked to rescue a princess from a massive tower filled with monsters and traps.

Plot

A necromancer seizes control after assassinating the king, imprisoning the princess in a monolithic tower. When the Royal Guard's assault fails, they conscript villagers like Yuva, a strong but inexperienced farmhand. The tower's nightmarish interior contains twisted architecture and mutated creatures, including reanimated fallen soldiers. As the group ascends, they face increasingly grotesque horrors while struggling with dwindling resources. Yuva's raw resilience proves vital against the tower's impossible geometry and supernatural threats, contrasting with the guards' formal training in this grim struggle for survival.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei, Tower Dungeon started in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius on October 26, 2023. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual volumes, with the first one released on February 8, 2024. As of September 9, 2025, five volumes have been released.
In July 2024, Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed the manga for English release in North America, with the first volume released on July 15, 2025.

Volumes

Reception

The manga was nominated for the tenth Next Manga Award in the print category in 2024.
Kara Dennison of Otaku USA observed that Tower Dungeon represents Nihei's shift from sci-fi to dark fantasy. She observed that the series features Nihei's distinctive monster designs and hints at deeper political intrigue. While the first volume mainly sets up the story, Dennison suggested it could appeal to both existing fans and new readers as a promising fantasy entry. Reviewing the first volume, Kevin Cormack of Anime News Network noted that the series marks Nihei's venture into fantasy, contrasting his signature sci-fi works like Blame!. He observed the manga retains Nihei's atmospheric worldbuilding while featuring simplified character designs and organic architecture. While praising the RPG-inspired premise and environmental storytelling, Cormack found the 160-page volume disappointingly short, ending as the narrative developed.